Vending-machine.



G. METTLER'& R. E. FUDGE.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

3 1 9 1 0 0O e D d v H m a P 0-. METTLER & R. E. FUDGE. VENDING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 20, 1911.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W/TNESSES: a" y; WWW my C. METTLER 8: R. E. FUDGE.

x VENDING MACHINE. APPLIGATION FILED JULY 20, 19 1l.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

4 SHEET S-SHEBT 3.

G. METTLER & R. E. FUDGE.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET WITNESSES:

Kw WW few parts that are automatic CASPAB. METTLER, OF NEW HAVEN,

NECTICUT, ASSIGNORS TO J. CONN EGTICUT.

AND RAYMOND E. FUDGE, OF WEST HAVEN, CON- FREDERICK SCHERMOND, TRUSTEE,OF NEW HAVEN,

VENDING-MACHIN E.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedDec. 30,1913.

Application filed July 20, 1911. Serial No. 639,559.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CASPAR ME'II'LER, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State ofConnecticut, and RAYMOND E. FUDGE, a citizen of the United States,residing at West Haven, town of Orange, in said county and State, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Vending-Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe ac companying drawings.

Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in vending machinesfor articles of'irregular shape, such as loaves of bread, etc., and hasfor its object, among other things, to construct such machine of intheir operation, and so designed as to be economically constructed andassembled.

To these, and other ends, our invention consists in the vending machine,having-certain details of construction, and combinations of parts, aswill be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out inthe'claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals of reference designatelike parts.

in the several figures: Figure 1 is a side elevation of our improvedmachine with the door partially removed, for the purpose of exhibitingthe interior mechanism; Fig. 2 is .a front elevation thereof, partly insection; Fig. 3 is a detailed view of the carrier; Fig; 4 is a view ofthe upper sprocket wheel with. the mechanism adjacent thereto; Fig. 5 isa view of the parts shown in Fig. 4, looking toward theleft of saidfigure; Fig. 6 is a view of the lower sprocket wheel with the mechanismadjacent thereto; Fig. 7 is a view thereof looking toward the left of Fi6;

Fig. 8 is a view of the pawl disk; Flg. 9

is a view of the coinmechanism; and Fi 10 is a view thereof lookingtoward the left of Fig. 9, with the money box and frame in section.

In the practice of our invention the mechanism is contained withina case1, that is supported upon a standard 2, fixed in any convenient mannerto a base 3, the case 1 having parallel sides with curved upper andlower portions, as shown in Fig. 1. One side of this case is closed by ahinged door 4, and upon the inside, of the case, opposite necessarily,'metal, and

. relation to each the door, isthe retaining plate 5, to which thebrackets 6 and 7 are vfixed, and within which is rotatably mounted theshafts 8 and 9. Upon the shaft 8 are fixed the sprocket Wheels 10 and11, said latter wheel having laterally projecting pins fixed therein,and upon the shaft 9-are fixed the s rocket wheels 12 and 13, saidsprocket w eel- 12 having the laterally projecting pin- 48 therein, allthe sprocket wheels being of the same diameter. Connected with saidsprocket wheels in the usual manner, is the sprocket chain 14, to whichare aflixed a plurality of carriers 15, preferably, but not made ofasinglepiece of sheet formed so as to have base por tions 16, upon whichare the retaining fingers 17, and upon one side thereof is the plate 18to prevent endwise shifting of the contents of the carrier in onedirection. We prefer to have the plate 18 upon only one end of thecarrier, but it can be constructed on both ends if desired. While wehave shown the preferred form of carrier, it is obvious that any formmay be substituted to accommodate the article to be contained therein.

Upon one side of the case 1 is fixed a j ournal ,collar 19, within whichis rotatable the shank 20 of the lever 21. Fixed uponsaid shank, withinthe interior of the case, by the pin 22, is the coin disk 23, having apin 24 fixed therein, projecting laterally therefrom over the edge ofthe coin wheel 25, loosely mounted 23, between said disk'and the collar26. In the edgeof this disk is a coin slot 27, and projecting radiallyfrom oneedge thereof, is a lug 28 that lies between the stop pin 29"fixed in the plate 5 and the said pin 24 when the parts are in positionto receive, a coin. Projecting across the slot 27, inthe wheel 25, arethe coin pins'36, that are so spaced in other thatthe coin of properdenomination will not pass therebetween. Fixed to the lever 21 is a pin30 that limits the movement thereof when said tacts with the studs 31and 32 fixedin the journal collar 19. Surrounding the enlarged portionof the shank 20 of the lever 21, is the coil spring 33, one end of whichis fixed to the lever 21, and the other end connected with either one ofthe studs 31 and 32, the action of said spring being such that upon thehub of the disk.

1 pin conit retains the coin disk 23 and coin wheel 25 in the positionshown in Figs. 1 and 9, that is, ready toreceive a coin.

The numeral 34 designates the coin chute, which is secured so as toincline downwardly from the coin slot 35, in the case 1, to the pointwhre'it delivers the coin into the slot 27, the coin channel in saidchute being only large enough to admit a coin of proper denomination.

Attached to the plate 5, below the coin wheel 25, is a coin box 37,which is closed at one end by the cover 38, and provided.

with a'slot 39 therein, that is, opposite the slot. 27, and throughwhich the coins tall from the coin Wheel. Pivotally secured to the plate5-by the. screw 40-is a locking bar 41, having a notch 42 near its upperend. in the path of the pins 45, and a lug 43 upon one side thereofadjacent to the coin wheel 25, the upper end of the lockingbar 41 beingsteadied by the fixed plate 44. The retaining latch 46 is pivotallysecured to the plate 44, and is provided with a notch 47 in one edgethereof that lies also in the path of the pins 45.

Rotatably mounted upon the hub of the sprocket wheel 12 is the pawl disk49, having a pawl 50 pivotally connected therewith by the screw 51, andnormally held by the spring 52, with its-outer end in the path of thepins 48. A link 53 joins the coin wheel 25 with the pawl disk. 49 andforms an operative connection therebetween.

At the lower end of-the case 1 is a discharge opening 55, that iscl'osedby a hinged door 56, and leading therefrom is a'discharge chute 54. Thedoor 56 is locked, when in its closed position, by the locking bar 57,pivotally mounteduponthe. screw 58, with its upper'end in the path of apin 59 in the pawl disk 49, and the lower end of which is provided witha laterally projecting pin 60 that passes under the retaining hook 61fixedto the door. 56, as shown in Fig. 1. As the pin 59, during itsrotation, strokes the end of the locking bar 57 it imparts a rockingmovement thereto and moves the pin 60 from its engagement with the hook61 and permits the door 56 to drop by gravity. Secured to the pawl disk49, by-

the pintle 63, is the lever 62, .that slides I against one side of thefixed pin 64, and has a laterally projecting lip v65 upon the lower endthereof, that projects under one edge of the door 56, as shown in Fig.2. The rotation of the disk 49, with a. coin in the coi wheel, moves thelever 62 from the positio shown in full lines, in Fig. 1, to that shownby dotted lines, so that when the door is released by the actuation ofthe lever 57 it will open by gravity, assisted by. the weight of thepackage delivered thereon from the carrier, and the return movement ofthe pawl disk 49 draws the lever 62 upwardly and preventing theinsertion of a 'and the door is raised to its closed position by thecontact of the lip 65 with the underside thereof, and when in its closedposition the pin 60 will drop under the hook 61.

We have provided. a mechanism for disclosing the fact that the machineis empty, coin in the chute under such circumstances. Thisdeviceconsists of a rock lever 66, having a downwardly projecting arm 67thereon and an upwardly projecting arm 68, a plate 69, one face of whichis exposed through an opening 70 in'the case, thatis connected with thearm 68 by the link 71, anda pad 73 upon one end of a rod- 72v that isfixed to the link 71.

l/Vhen the machineis loaded, the parts are in the relative positions,-substantially as shown, in Fig. 1, with the lower end of. the

arm 67 held in contact with the contents ofthe lower carrier 74 by thesprin 75, in which positionthe pad -73 is outof t e path of the coinchute, and the plate 69 is in its down position so as not to be readilyobserved through the opening 70. After the carrier 74 has passed the endof the arm 67 and brought into its discharge position under the sprocketwheels, the spring 75 pulls the link 71 and rock arm 66 upwardly, andthe plate 69 is brought to its, position adjacent to the side of thecase, and through which the word empty, or similar phrase,

can be readily seen. At the same time, the

pad 73 is moved up so as to close the open end of the coin chute, thuspreventing the admission of a coin therein.

In operation, the coin rolls through the coin chute from the opening 70,and drops into the slot 27 of the coin wheel, contacting with the pins36, as shown in Fig. 9, by broken lines. The operator now grasps thelever21 and moves it about its pivot mounting, at which time the pin 24contacts with the coin, thereby making a rigid connection between thecoin disk, coin wheel, and the coin itself, so that movement of saidlever is imparted to the coin wheel. During the first portion of thecoin disk rotation,'the outer edge of the coin contacts with the lug 43on the locking bar 41, moving said locking bar against the tension ofthe vllt spring 76 to the position shown by broken lines in Fig. 4,wherein the notch 42 is out of the path of the pins 45. At this time thepawl disk 49 is rotated through the link 53, and the pawl 50 thereonrotates the sprocket wheel 12 through its contact with one of the pins48. This movement is transmitted through the sprocket wheels and shaftsSand 9 to the sprocket chain 14, and the carriers are advanced one step.These steps successively bringing the several carriers into registerwith the opening 55 in the bottom of the case, at which time the pin 30inthe lever 21 contacts with the stud 31 into the coin box, I

in the collar- 19. As the entire movement of the lever 21, abovedescribed, isagainst the tension of the spring 33, it is immediatelyreturned to its original position when released. The return movement ofthe pawl disk 49 actuates the levers 57 and 62 so as to close and lockthe door 56, as above described. A s the coin box 3 strips the coin fromthe coin wheel, durin the return movement of said coin wheel, iperchance it does not drop by gravity into-the coin box. A return movement of the sprocket chain is also prevented by-the retaining latch 46,the notch 47 therein engaging with one of the pins 45 at the completionof each successive advance movement of the sprocket chain. A returnmovement of thecoin wheel anddisk is'limited by the stop 29, as shown inFig. 10, in which position that portion of the slot 27 between the pins36 is again in register with the coin chute.

The device cannot be operated by a coin of any other denomination thanthat for which the machine is arranged, for if of larger diameter it wi;1 not enter the chute, and if smaller it will pass between the pins 36,through the coin wheel 27 and slot 39 without operating the machine.

The .door 56 is in itsopen position when, eachof the carriers registerstherewith, so that the contents drop therefrom by gravity through theopening 25 into the chute 54, from which they are readily removed.

When the device is used for vending bread, the same is usually wrappedin paper before being placed in the machine, and thus a doubleprecaution sanitary, and being inclosed within an outer case, the breadretains its flavor and freshnessa much longer time than if kept 'in theoven.

There are minor changes and alterations that can be made within ourinvention, aside from those herein suggested, and wewould therefore haveit understood that we do not limit ourselves to the exact constructionherein shown and described, but claim all that falls fairly within thespirit and scope of our invention. I

' Having described our invention, what we claim as new and Patent, is

1. A machine of the class described comprising a swinging deliver lockreleasably engaging the door for bold ing it in receiving position,means for delivering articles to the door, means forreleasing the latchwhen an article is delivered to the door for permitting the latter todrop to discharging position, and means Tor-automatically raising thedoor after the article is discharged for engaging the lock with thedoor.

desire to secure by Letters ring 77, fixed to one side of is taken tokeep the breaddoor, a pivoted less element, a plurality of articlecarriers a shutter or delivery door upon thereon, which each carrierdeposits an article, means for moving the said carrier element, anautomatically-set lock normally holding the door in receiving positionand arranged tobe released by the said means after a carrier deposits anarticle on the door to permit the door to move to delivery posltion,

and an element connected with the saidmeans for moving the door fromdelivery to receiving positio 4. A machine of the class describedcomprising an endless carrying mechanism movable step by step,

the mechanism, a pawl and ratchet device for producing step by stepmovement in one direction of the said mechanism, a device cooperatingwith the said mechanism for receiving therefrom and carrying articles tobe dispensed, and means controlling the movementof the device to andfrom discharging position by the movement of the said element. V

5. A machine of the class described com- 7 anelement having a back andforth movement with each step of of an article-carrying prising acarrying mechanism, means for Y moving the same, a door mounted toreceive articles from the said mechamsm, a catch on the door, a

door is moved to receiving position, means for operating the lock torelease the catch for permitting the door to move to dischargingposition, and a longitudinally-movable element for engaging the door tomove the same from discharging to receiving position.

6. The combination of a door for receiving an article to be discharged,means for depositing articles thereon, a lock for holding the doorinreceivin position, an oscillatory element arrange to engage andrelease the look after an article is placed on the door, and adoor-engaging rod pivotally connected with the element and movablelongitudinally thereby for returning the door from-discharging toreceiving osition.'

7. The combination of a manu ly-operated oscillatory device, anoscillatory element, 'a link connection between the device and elementfor operating the latter by the former, a carrier mechanism moved stepby pivoted lock mounted 'to automatically engage the catch when the stepby the said the same,

the manually operated '20. and driving the same,

said device,

element, an article delivering door cooperating with the mechanism, andmeans operated by the said element for ,controlling the opening andclosing of the 5 door.

8. A machine of the class described comprising an endless element,carriers mounted thereon, spaced shafts, wheels on the shafts forguiding the element and driving an oscillatory device, a ratchet andpawl means between the device and one of the shafts for positivelyrotating the latter, a manually-operated element located between theshafts, and a link connection between element and said device.

9. A machine of the class described comprising an endless element,carriers mounted thereon, wheels for guidin the element an oscil atorydevice, a ratchet and pawl means between the device and one of theWheels for positively rotating the latter, a manually-operated element,a ,link connection between the element and a door controlling thedischarge of articles from, the carriers, and means operated by the'saiddevice to control the openin and closing of the door.

'10. machine of'the class described com- SO prising an endless element,a rotary driving ing means,

means therefor movable step by step, an oscillatory element associatedwith the driva ratchet and pawl between the element and driving means,an oscillatory element moved manually in one direction, means for movingthe last-mentioned element in the opposite direction,,and a linkconnection between the two oscillatory elements for simultaneousmovement.

11. A machine of the class described comprising an endless guiding meanstherefor, an oscillatory element a pawl and ratchet connection betweenthe element and one of the said means, an oscillatory element locatedbetween the guiding means, a connection between the oscillatory elementsforsimultaneous movement, a handle connected with the last-mentionedoscillatory element 'for moving the same in one direction, and a springfor moving the handle and said element ,in the opposite direction.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

CASPAR METTILER. RAYMOND E. FUDGE;

oscillatory Witnwsesz- GEORGE E. HALL, LOUIS M. ROSENBLUTH.

40 element, upper and lower

